M 



M 



and in a prolonged dry period, it can run out of wa- 

 ter. Bob does have the water in the milk tank avail- 

 able if necessary and he also has another fifteen 

 hundred-gallon tank filled with water outside. If the 

 needs the water, he pumps it back into the well and 

 uses it from there. 



This system has always worked, but Bob figures 

 it's time to dig a new well. He's hired a dowser — a 

 person who searches for water by means of a divin- 

 ing rod. Bob says it worked — the apple wood rod 

 consistently vibrated and turned downward at a cer- 

 tain spot. "Thirty feet down there's plenty of water," 

 the man promised, but thirty feet down is below 

 ledge. Still, this is where the rod suggested and this 

 summer, a new well will be dug at that spot. 



THE PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES ARE 

 STRAIGHT- FORWARD. During the fall, containers 

 are pre-filled and stored. (The potting bench is in 

 the first New Englander.) Bob uses straight Fafard 

 mixes. 



The first seeds are planted in November. 



There are six germinating chambers in the New 

 Englander. The wood in these benches are pres- 

 sure-treated; bottom heat is created by hot water 

 flowing through bulk tubing set in a bed of perlite. 

 A layer of styrofoam is between the wood and per- 

 lite. Plastic over an aluminum frame creates a min- 

 iature greenhouse that holds the moisture. 



An Old Mill seeder used for sowing plugs. It does 

 20-50 trays per hour. All plugs are in 273's. 



Some benches have an automatic watering system 

 made of PVC pipe with sprinkler nozzles set into it. 

 And the hangers are on a chapin system. But there's 

 still plenty of hand watering. 



He feeds the crop 15-16-17 using a Gewa injec- 

 tor — "a nice way to feed because it can be dial- 

 proportioned." 



Spraying is done with a 4-wheel Siebring wagon 

 with a fifty-gallon tank. 



The main crop is "bedding plants firom A to Z — 



from ageratum to zinnias." The 100,000 annuals in- 

 clude lots of old standards — petunias (43 varieties), 

 marigolds (28 varieties), and impatiens (25 varieties), 

 as well as the unusual — things like hibiscus and mel- 

 ampodium. Each year he experiments with a few new 

 things — this year he grew agastache (Blue Spike) and 

 dwarf sunflowers for the first time ("They did well"), 

 but most of what he grows is aimed toward the broad 

 center of the market. He grows 3-4000 hanging bas- 

 kets and before the bedding plant season, he also 

 wholesales plugs. 



The bedding plants are in 804, 806, and 606-pacs. 

 Pansies and violas are the first to be transplanted. 

 Vinca vines are grown for February/March; plugs are 

 for sale by April. 



Bob grows 2000 4 1/2' geraniums. He grows seed 

 geraniums — they're less expensive to produce — and 

 sees blossom shattering as no longer a problem. 



There is some retail trade, but most of the crop is 

 custom grown for three local garden centers. Bob de- 

 livers using a van and a trailer. The houses are empty 

 by mid-June. 



There are long hours in spring. A retired couple 

 helps with transplanting, but Bob and Marilyn do the 

 rest of the work themselves. He's up at four ("It's a 

 pretty time of day"); she sleeps in (she gets up at 

 five); workdays often end after dark. 



But summer is a more leisurely period — a time to 

 clean up, repair, grow a vegetable garden. ..maybe 

 even relax. Their children are on opposite coasts — 

 a daughter is in California; a son is superintendent of 

 grounds at Bates College in Maine — but both Bob's 

 and Marilyn's parents are nearby and time is spent 

 with them. 



And in the fall, the cycle will begin again. A 

 quiet man doing simple work continues to produce 

 crops of a very high quality. (B.P.) 



Bergevin's Greenhouse is at 687 High Street, 

 Candia, New Hampshire 03034. The telephone 

 is (603) 483-2651. ^ 



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